Los Angeles history

Artist's Notebook: City Hall

Since I began posting Nuestro Pueblo last year, I've wanted to feature contemporary artwork of historic Los Angeles in the spirit of what Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens did in 1938-39.

Not long ago, I met Marion Eisenmann, a German artist who was interested in a similar project. After a few discussions we decided to collaborate.

It seemed natural to start with City Hall, which is probably the building that is most closely associated with Los Angeles. City Hall appears frequently in the Nuestro Pueblo drawings, often in the background, because at that time it was the tallest building in Los Angeles.

What you see here is City Hall in the middle, with City Hall East in the background and then a corner of The Times Building to the right. Off on the left is the criminal courts building.

It's common these days for artists to work from photographs but this was done at a shady spot on Bunker Hill, in front of the Colburn School on Olive Street.

I hope to post more of Marion's artwork in the future. In the meantime, you can contact her here.